Determining a depth or a height of an object, also known as range sensing, is important in a variety of applications. For example, range sensing can be important in inspecting electronic assemblies, inspecting semiconductor packages during manufacturing, and digitizing three-dimensional (“3D”) clay models.
Range sensing can be performed using a range sensor system, which can provide a height map (also known as a range image or a depth image) as an output. The height map can be processed using a computing device to determine the location of an object, the shape of an object, and/or the 3D profile of an object captured by the height map. Unfortunately, height map processing can involve a large amount of computation because height map processing often includes a 3D registration of a height map. Therefore, there is a general need to reduce a computational complexity of height map processing.